


you smell like honey and vanilla

by GLO55TOWN



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossdressing, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mistaken Identity, bc takoomi always angry, i guess, lil angry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 17:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11166576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GLO55TOWN/pseuds/GLO55TOWN
Summary: tbh I just wrote this because I had ideas for reveal so don't actually take this seriously...and it's not my AUniverse either so I'm gifting it to the person who it belongs to -(set in "The Noh Mask" AUniverse)





	you smell like honey and vanilla

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sparetimer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparetimer/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Noh Mask](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11107611) by [Sparetimer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparetimer/pseuds/Sparetimer). 



> I hope you like it ^^

Takumi almost regrets posing as his little sister. Honestly, he's not even sure how he's made it through  _six_ _months_ without anyone saying anything. Hell, of course it's because almost nobody knows what Sakura or he actually look like (he's heard rumors, like the one about him being a stick and sickly kid - now that's just offensive because he's anything but that), but shouldn't there be at least one or two photos on the internet? Hinoka occasionally posts pictures of all of them together on her Twitter, but he supposes that she never elaborates on who's who. Or maybe she just blots them out. Who knows?

 

Well, nobody, which is good, because Leo will probably have a heart attack if he figures out that "Sakura" is Takumi. No doubt it'd be funny, but...He might have thought of Leo as his friend once or twice...maybe even something more. He sometimes hopes that Leo feels the same way but that bastard would just tease him if he said anything, so he doesn't. Leo admitted, a couple weeks after that birthday party (Takumi would rather not think about that event), that his father had indeed told him to try and get Sakura to marry him (or seize their assets, in his own words). Takumi had nearly told him who he really was in a rush of insults and quiet cursing and " _I knew it"_ s but refrained, realizing the situation was far from over. Still, though, it's hard to pose as a girl two years younger and 4 inches shorter with a voice at least half an octave higher, and he takes pride in his ability (or Leo's incredible ignorance) to do it.

 

"Sakura!" _Oh, great. Elise._ Takumi was fond of her - don't misunderstand - but the girl was shockingly keen and had come scarily close to the truth once or twice (Better than her brother, he thought).

 

"Yeah?" "So, um, have you talked to Leo recently? He seems kinda down..." She trails off and he cringes. "Uh, sorry, Elise...I'm not sure what's going on with him." She sighs and her eyelids droop in what seems to be a mix of despair and sorrow. "Is something up with you?" He prompts her. "You can talk to me about anything." Elise stares up at him and he wonders how she got violet eyes, for the fifth time at least. "Do you like my brother?" She blurts out of nowhere and he freezes. _Yes,_ his brain supplies, and he tries to shove it away to some dark, freezing corner until the conversation is over. 

 

When he doesn't answer she continues on, "You two seem close. You're always arguing over chess and shogi but we know that you two are having lots of fun anyways, or when you start to talk all sciency and he just listens and contributes and then you _both_ start rambling on about it." Takumi is rendered speechless. The girl's observation wasn't something he himself had really noticed, per say - it had become part of his daily routine to argue with Leo about who knows what. "I...I suppose I've been taking him for granted," Is what slips out of his mouth instead of the _I don't really know_ he had prepared. She looks up at him again with those puppy-dog eyes that the real Sakura does, and true to the nature, he gives in and continues. "I mean, I didn't really realize that we seemed so close. Are you ok with it?" He asks out of the blue and she cocks her head. "Huh? Of course! If big brother is happy, then so am I. Even though Father originally forced him to do it 'cuz Leo doesn't like girls I think he likes _you._ "

 

 _Leo doesn't like girls?_ "Hold on, s-say that again?" "Hm? I think he likes you?" "No, the part before that." "Leo doesn't like girls?" She looked at him unblinking, confused. "So you do like him?" "NO! No, not that way."  _That's a big fat lie, Takumi. You know it. That bastard has you completely entrapped, like you're a rabbit._ With that metaphor, Takumi doesn't think he can ever go and place traps for rabbits again. He can empathize with them now. "Oh, ok then! So even if Father still forces Leo to marry you or something at least you would be fine with it. That makes me feel relieved. You're like my big sister, with how often you come over now, so I'm glad." Her smile is as wide as her face and Takumi doesn't have the heart to tell her that she's wrong. "Yeah," He agrees. "I'm glad too."

 

He hesitates. Should he tell her? Right now, Takumi feels like she's really his younger sister, as different from Sakura as she is. Elise has really wormed his way into his heart, mostly because he knows she's _different_ from the other Nohrians. Hinoka calls her a little ball of sunshine and she isn't wrong. "Sakura?" "Elise," He echoes, and then sighs. "I'm sorry. Do you want to come over for a little? There's a surprise I have for you," He offers. Well, Sakura made lunch so that would be a wonderful meal anyways. "Sure!" She brightly responds and he motions for her to follow him, and they head back into his car and back home.

 

\--

 

Leo was watching the conversation between Elise and Sakura, and something about the way Sakura is standing and something about the conversation that seems stilted on her end. He isn't sure what's up, but it's not like he can just ask her. That would be weird, and creepy, and anyways he could just ask Elise later. The only thing that really bothers him right now is how he feels when he even thinks about her. It's something new and it's...not that bad, really. Though, the fluttery feeling in his chest is a little annoying because he _can't focus._ When he asked Camilla she gave him a devious smile and asked who the lucky person was, and he immediately stiffened up because Father would kill him if he figured out Leo fell in love with a "dirty Hoshidian fool" - though she was anything _but_ that.

 

Leo will admit to only himself that he saw - sees - part of himself in her, and that might be a factor in his affection towards her. The problem was, he frowns, that she always seems on guard or tense around him, long after he lowers his guard around her. It made his mood drop when he noticed it, but he just tried to keep going like normal. He'd be damned if he thought she had forgiven him for proving her own point - _"I know Nohrian Enterprises, and you’re always scheming something" -_ but hadn't they...become friends? It was a tentative term, evidently, but so was the trust between them. He gives a huge sigh worthy of the Ylissean company's prodigy and continues to glumly stare out the window. He's already finished anything he had to take care of, and there was no-one this time to play chess with him - he sighs again - so he'd have to do something. His eyes drift to his bed, then his phone, then back to his bed.

 

Very well. He'll just sleep the afternoon away, because only in hell will he tell Niles and Odin about his issues. Sure, they're good friends, but they're _those_ kind of friends who endlessly shame you. He really doesn't need or want that right now. He especially doesn't want Niles commenting anything about "being straighter than I thought, and you have a stick up your ass" because they've had this goddamn conversation before.

 

He stares at his phone again, then snatches it up and illogically begins typing out an apology to Sakura.

 

\--

 

Takumi's nervous. He doesn't know how Elise will react, he doesn't think he should be doing this, but Elise has a way of slipping through the cracks to get to the treasure. She'll make one hell of a CEO, if she decides to take over for Xander, one day. He putters to a stop in the garage and opens the back door, sighing heavily.

 

"I'm home, Sakura!" Elise quizzically glances at him, but he ignores her stare and leads her in, quietly asking for her to remove her shoes. She does it, still confused, and he walks over to Sakura. "Oh, is that miso soup?" Despite his situation, miso soup has always been a favorite and Sakura's cooking is magnificent, so at least there's something to look forwards to.

 

"O-oh! Yes, I am. You must be Elise," She trails off and the girl asks, "Wait, so who's Sakura?" Takumi interrupts, speaking in his normal voice ( _finally_ ). "We should properly introduce ourselves. Elise, this is my little sister Sakura, and my name is Takumi." he thrusts out his hand towards her, feeling sweat creep down the back of his neck. She's open-mouthed, completely shocked, and barely sputters out a high pitched " _What?!"_ He drops his hand and says, "You're free to...I don't know. Hit me or something. I'm really sorry for having to deceive you like this," He does a 90 degree bow and winces - he hasn't been doing those too much lately - before straightening back up again. Elise has the decency to at least close her mouth, so she somehow manages to recollect herself before saying, "Sakura - the real Sakura - you're really pretty." His little sister flushes and mutters something inaudible in stammered Japanese, and Takumi can't help but feel slightly offended. "As for _you,_ _mister,"_ She wags a threatening finger at him, "You need to explain right now."

 

So they go and sit in the living room while Sakura busies herself, making tea, and he explains everything. When he's done, she sighs and shakes her head. "Well, at least now Leo won't have to worry about it too much if he does figure it out." She rolls her eyes. "For someone so smart he can be super dumb." "You know, I still think of you as my little sister. I wasn't lying." He says solemnly. Her grin is back and she tackles him in a hug. "Yipee! Thanks, Sa - Takumi!" He laughs as Sakura comes in the room, looking startled, and he motions for her to come over. "Why don't you and Sakura have a chat? I think you two would get along well, and someone's been blasting up my phone." His phone has been buzzing for a while and he needs to address whoever it is. Honestly, it better not be Oboro, because if she's mad at him it won't be pretty. The girls chime "Ok" in unison and then begin giggling about it, so he makes like Sonic and runs up the stairs to his room.

 

It's Leo. A sour taste fills his mouth and he opens up the app - he's going to murder him... There's a wall of text and he's not even surprised, but what on Earth is this all about? He's long changed his contact name back to just leo (without bothering to capitalize because the bastard didn't deserve the honor of a capitalized L - plus he's too lazy to change it now anyways), but with the explosion of his notifications he's tempted to switch it back to Nohrian Scum with a middle finger.

 

leo: Sakura, I saw you talking with Elise through my window.

leo: Er, I hope you don't take that the wrong way. I wasn't stalking you, I swear.

leo: Anyways, I wanted to apologize to you again. If I'm being honest, it rather bothers me how you still don't lower your guard around me though I've long admitted to giving up on chasing you in any way.

leo: I had a rather silly notion that we were friends, but the term seems a bit too tentative to use.

leo: I feel like I've done something else major to offend you, seeing how you get along so well with Elise, though again I'm probably just being a fool.

leo: I also wanted to apologize again for the two months before I told you of the reasoning behind my intentions. I lied to you flat-out and even though I would still like to 'bridge the gap between companies' and enjoy _your_ company - for real - I hope you know, now that I'm telling you, that it gnaws at my conscience.

leo: Initially I thought, honestly, that you were rather rude and odd and that Father should have just asked Camilla to go and seduce Takumi instead.

 

Takumi actually wants to throw up at that sentence, because _please no, Camilla is terrifying._ But he continues reading, because Leo's rambling seems to have at least a little bit of merit to it.

 

leo: But as I got to know you better I retracted my first impression. You are kind, and were rude to me only because of what my father did to your family.

leo: So again, I am dearly sorry, though I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon.

leo: So right now, I'm rather illogically typing out this set of apologies to you to prelude my next, and only, request.

leo: Would you at least consider being my friend?

 

Takumi pauses. There's a swelling feeling in his stomach and gods, is he smiling? He supposes this is something trivial - making new friends - to maybe _normal_ people but Takumi's had more than he share of being sheltered and hidden. A friend is a treasure. Especially when it's Leo. Right now, being even just friends, is something he'll take. The emotion he wants to express is impossible with unfeeling blocks of black letters, so he taps the phone icon instead. Leo picks up almost immediately and apprehensively asks, "Well?"

 

Takumi _laughs._ He laughs like no tomorrow and he's smiling so wide. "You were waiting for me," He wheezes and he can just _see_ him frowning on the other side of the phone. "Well, I -" " _Yes,_ " He says. "Yes, I'll be your friend, Mr. Pompous Prince, Sir Asshole Leo."

 

There's a moment of silence and then Leo says with mild bewilderment, "Is...is your voice deeper?"

 

_Oh, shit._

 

"I - maybe it's just the phone?" He tries to improvise, but he can tell Leo's mind is whirring. "Are you sick or something?" _Oh, thank the gods and everything holy._ "Yeah, I guess. It's not that bad, though." Then another pause. "Did you just call me 'Mr. Pompous Prince, Sir Asshole' while agreeing to be my friend?" "Why are you so hung up on something as trivial as that?" He snorts, and Leo huffs. "Well, you know what...." Unable to finish his sentence, he just huffs again, and Takumi snickers.

 

They delve into a thoughtful conversation about aerodynamics and the flight path of an arrow based on the position of the archer's legs until someone knocks on the door. "Who's there? Come in," He says and sets his phone down on the table, swiveling around to face the door. Sakura opens it with a cup of tea and a bowl of miso and his face lights up, taking them from her hands. "Ah! Thank you, Sakura. Are you and Elise getting along?" She smiles. "Yes! Elise is very kind and nice to talk to. What about you, big brother?" "Elise?" "No, who are you talking to on your phone?"

 

His face whitens and a chill runs down his spine. "I...not now, I'll explain later." She can tell something's off and leaves with a concerned look. He picks the phone back up and Leo's voice is very very dangerous. "Explain yourself, right now. 'Sakura,'" He says mockingly and Takumi knows he made a very big mistake, but there's nothing he can do to turn back time. "I'm not Sakura. Evidently." He switches into his high voice. "This is 'Sakura'," He clears his throat. "But I'm Takumi. A much worse, annoying, and useless person than my little sister. You mistook me, somehow, for her at the conference, and there was no way in hell I was going to let you move in on my sister, especially after what you told me Garon wanted you to do." He spits out and there seems to be only silence.

 

"I apologized for lying to you, but here you are, telling me you're guilty of the exact same thing." There seems to be genuine anger and sorrow piled up in Leo's voice and Takumi feels a spike of anger. "Well, wouldn't you have done the same for Elise? Though I don't think I'd be as dense if  _you_ were supposed to be her." "Then why didn't you tell me after I told you my intentions?" Leo snaps. "Because you seemed to like 'me' a lot and it would only make me feel bad if you got that sudden slap to a face. Not to mention that your father would throw a fit - don't think I haven't seen or heard what he's done to you," he snaps back and the silence descends again. "You were...you..." "I was only thinking about your well-being, you selfish shitbag," He growls into the phone. "I'm dropping Elise off at your house. I'll knock thrice, so be ready." With that, he ends the call and slumps onto his table. 

 

He stomps down the stairs, emotions tied up and wrung out, maybe about to break down into a crying mess, but he tiredly tells the girls to get ready to go. They look at each other, concerned, but don't argue. The car ride is silent, and like he told Leo, knocks thrice on the door. He never expected to see a _red-eyed, crying_ _Leo._ Leo shoots him what is probably an attempt at a spiteful glare and tries to herd Elise inside, but the younger tugs at his arm. "You should talk things over, big brother." She tells him solemnly. "He only wanted to protect Sakura. After all, I know you'd do the same for me." She gives the other girl a quick, tight hug, along with the promise to play violin with her soon, and her steps fade away into the house. Sakura is wise and goes to sit in the car, leaving the two of them alone. 

 

Takumi crosses his arms. Leo stares at him.

 

"I'm sorry," They both say simultaneously. Albeit in different tones of voice, but...

"You-" They stop (again? really?) and Takumi opens his mouth to speak. Leo lets him, this time. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner," he says gruffly. "As much as I wanted to keep my little sister safe, my real reason was that I was afraid once I stopped being 'Sakura' you wouldn't...want to talk to me anymore. I know, I'm an idiot." He groans, looking away - anywhere but Leo. "But I've been cooped up all my life, you know? As much as it pains me to admit, you're...one of my only friends." Leo laughs, hiccuping, and rubs his tears away. "I'm sorry for being a selfish, pompous brat," He says, sniffing. "I'm sorry I somehow made you take care of me, and I'm sorry you had to see and hear what Father does to me. I'm sorry that I forced you into a role you didn't want to play, I'm sorry that I yelled at you, I'm sorry that I ruined your day...the list goes on," Leo chokes out. His breath is shuddering, uneven, and Takumi can tell he's about to cry again, so he pulls the other forwards and into his embrace. It's awkward, and probably uncomfortable, but Leo laughs again and rests his head on his shoulder, his arms encircling his back. "We're both sorry and idiots, then." "No, you're idiot, and I'm sorry." "You're joking at a time like this?"  Takumi demands and Leo just tightens his grip.

 

"You smell like home," Leo's voice is muffled but the four words cause Takumi's head to spin. "Why are you smelling me?" "It isn't my fault, I'm just trying to breathe, here." "Fine, then how many trashy love novels have you been reading?" "None. You really do smell like a place I want to be." Takumi blushes (because _damn, that's so cliche sounding but got my heart pounding ten times faster)_ and says hotly, "And you smell like bullshit, Leo." "I'm not lying," he protests, but gives in. "Fine. I read a couple." "See? Liar," he sings and the Nohrian just smacks him. "Shut up and let me be blubbery just for once in my life."  They both laugh and before he knows it, he leans in to get a whiff of Leo's hair and automatically remarks, "Actually, you smell like honey and vanilla." Leo hits him, _hard,_ and he yelps. "What was that for?" "You can't just do that!" "Wh - why not?! You did!" Leo moves backwards and stares him flatly in the eyes. "Takumi, I'm _gay."_ "For me?" He smirks, striking a really bad pose, and Leo groans. " _Yes, but I'm reconsidering why."_

  
"Oh." Suddenly, Takumi's the blushing one. "Well? You basically coerced me into telling you, so what about you?" "I...uh..." "No, I completely understand if you want to rescind our bro-ment just a couple seconds ago." " _Stop making bad puns while I'm trying to think of a way to say the same thing to you!"_ "Well, that's one way to do it."

 

"SHIT." Leo snorts in laughter and doubles over, smacking his leg, and Takumi begins to run back to his car. "Let's continue about aerodynamics when you get home!" "I hate you," he yells back and Leo just shrugs. "Of course you do."

 

Sakura smiles at him when he furiously tries to start his stupid discreet five-year-old-Toyota-Corolla and says sweetly, "I'm glad you both worked it out." He heaves a big sigh, but the smile remains. "Yeah," he says. "Me too."

 

 

 


End file.
